Oando Plc’s Group Chief Executive, Wale Tinubu, has pointed to a growing shift in buyer interest towards West Africa amid escalating disruption to international oil flows caused by conflicts in the Middle East.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali, where global energy security took centre stage, Tinubu said the disruption around the Strait of Hormuz had changed the way global buyers and investors assess energy supply risk, particularly in regions historically viewed as stable sources of hydrocarbons.
According to him, the shift has already translated into stronger crude prices and increased revenue potential for producers such as Oando. “We’ve seen crude oil prices increase by 40 per cent on average, so we are certainly getting a windfall increase in our revenues,” Tinubu said.
Tinubu noted that the disruption to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz had weakened the long-standing perception of the Middle East as a relatively secure hydrocarbon-producing region.
For buyers in Asia and other major consuming markets, the disruption, he said, has sharpened the need to diversify supply sources and secure alternative barrels from regions such as West Africa. “We have seen increasing investor interest, because now the Strait of Hormuz has been challenged, the Middle Eastern premium you got from being a stable environment to produce hydrocarbons has been disrupted,” Tinubu said.
He added that Oando had received growing interest from Asian institutions and governments seeking energy security alternatives out of West Africa, as supply concerns continue to reshape procurement priorities.
“A lot of Asian countries are having great difficulty in receiving their crude oil supplies, so we’re getting a lot of interest from Asian institutions and governments looking at energy security opportunities out of West Africa,” he said.
For Oando, he stated that this renewed attention is expected to reinforce an already planned drilling programme. Tinubu said the company had launched a major campaign to increase production.
Asked whether the increased demand would translate into more drilling, he said: “Definitely. We already had a major drilling campaign planned, which we’ve started, and we plan to increase our production to 100,000 barrels a day.”
According to him, the company is also expanding its rig capacity to support the production ramp-up. Tinubu said Oando had taken delivery of its first rig, with others expected in the coming months.
The Oando CEO also remarked on how recent global events may require the company to accelerate its activities to capture the supply gap created by the conflict. “We had a big campaign planned for the next five years, but with what has gone on now, it’s likely we have to intensify it because we need to capture the demand shortfall that has been created by this conflict,” he said.
Bloomberg reported that Oando plans to drill seven new oil wells by the end of the year, which could lift output by 10,000 barrels per day. The report also noted that the company aims to raise up to $750 million over the remainder of 2026 through a mix of debt and equity to support its growth and acquisition plans.
Beyond Nigeria, Oando’s growth ambitions are increasingly regional and international, building on the company’s landmark acquisition of NAOC from Eni in 2024 and strengthening its posture as an indigenous energy player with expanding global ambitions.
The company said it recently signed a production-sharing contract for Angola’s Block KON 13 in the Kwanza Basin and continues to evaluate opportunities across West Africa, as well as in Guyana and Suriname.
“For Oando, the opportunity is clear: rising demand and renewed investor interest could provide the momentum needed to accelerate drilling, expand production, and deepen the company’s role as a key indigenous energy player connecting African supply to global markets,” the company stated.
Emmanuel Addeh
